Some people refer to Ataxia as an invisible illness – a disease with no prominent physical characteristics. It’s an umbrella term for “any medical condition that isn’t easily visible to others.” There are hundreds of these invisible diseases like Lupus, Fibromyalgia, Cystic Fibrosis, mental illnesses…
And, to be honest, I’ve always been hesitant to put SCA in this category. How a person walks seems like a pretty prominent physical characteristic to me.
But, more than once, strangers assumed I was drunk before assuming I had a disability. Plus, there’s so much more going on that is, well, invisible. So, I get it.